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| Stephen Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 12, 1974 , Trowbridge, Wiltshire |
| Nationality |  English |
| Professional | 1992– |
| Highest ranking | #5 (2000/2001) |
| 2008/09 ranking | #27 |
| Career winnings | GB£1,505,760 |
| Highest break | 147 (2008 Matchroom league) |
| Tournament wins | |
| Ranking | 4 |
Stephen Lee (born 12 October 1974) is a professional snooker-player from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, noted for his smooth cue action that some pundits regard as the most natural in the game.[1]
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Career
Lee turned professional after winning the English Amateur Championship in 1992. During his first season as a professional he had a run of 33 successive frames won during qualifying matches, an all-time professional record[2]. He reached the Top 16 of the rankings five years later,[3] which meant he no longer needed to play qualifying rounds for ranking events, and entered the Top 8 after winning his first ranking title during the 1998/1999 season. He spent several years in or near the Top 8, peaking at #5.
Lee has won four ranking tournaments, including the prestigious Grand Prix twice (in 1998 & 2001), with a World Championships best run to the semi-finals (in the 2003 event). His first ranking title and first two ranking semi-finals were all achieved without beating a top-16 player [1]. In the 2001-2002 season he scored more ranking points than any other player (winning the Scottish Open as well as the Grand Prix), thus briefly making him the provisional world #1 early in the following season. Lee was favourite to win the 2001 Masters, but lost 5-6 in the first round to Dave Harold.
In the 2006 Welsh Open he came to the competition outside the provisional Top 16 after failing to win a ranking tournament for four years. He went on to win the tournament, beating the World Champion, Shaun Murphy 9-4 in the final.
For 2007-2008 he slipped to #13 in the rankings after reaching just one semi-final, partly due to missing the China Open for personal reasons,[4] and he has slipped to #25 in the provisional list. He nevertheless reached the final of the 2008 Masters, losing 10-3 to Mark Selby.[5]
Lee has compiled 127 competitive centuries during his career.
Following a heavy defeat by Joe Swail in the first round of the 2008 World Championship, Lee considered retiring from the game. [6]
Personal life
He married long-term partner Laura in the summer of 2005 in Florida. He has four children - a daughter called Shana, son Connor and twin sons Ronnie and Alfie.citation needed
Tournament wins
Ranking wins
References
- ^ "Snooker Player Profile - Stephen Lee", no byline, World Snooker, date unspecified (copyright 2007); accessed 18 April 2007
- ^ "Stephen Lee". www.snooker.org. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Player Profile: Stephen Lee". Global Snooker Centre. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Lee pulls out of China trip". worldsnooker.com (2007-03-04). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Mark Selby wins Masters and pockets a cheque for £150,000". Daily Mirror (2008-01-21). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "Beaten Lee considers retirement". BBC Sport (2008-04-20). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
